Satellite operator SES is working with Google’s experimental stratospheric balloon system, ‘Project Loon’, to bring telephone and broadband connectivity back to hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico. ‘Project Loon’, in this case, sees very high-altitude balloons used over Puerto Rico and SES-backed O3b’s FastConnect satellite terminals for further links into the world’s telecoms systems. “Our thoughts are […]
The Anil Ambani-backed Reliance Digital DTH service over India is widely reported to be about to close. A notice in Hindi to subscribers has been published in some Indian newspapers, and saying that the service will cease on November 18th. This notice has not been confirmed. The reports come amidst numerous stories of financial pressures […]
Last week, Inside Satellite was specifically told by a representative of Avanti Communications that the London-based satellite operator would release its end-of-year numbers (to June 30th) no later than November. The company last week had suffered two days of heavy share trading which took Avanti’s share price to its lowest-ever value. However, in an after-hours […]
IHS Markit says the increasing popularity of time- and place-shifted content viewing is disrupting the media management industry. Global media management revenue is forecast to grow at a 5.9 per cent CAGR from 2015 to 2021. The fastest-growing regions during this time frame are Asia Pacific and South and Central America. Analysis Owing to myriad […]
Madrid-based satellite operator Hispasat is still very much a potential take-over target. The name now most-frequently mentioned as being the buyer is Red Electrica De Espana (REE), the nation’s state-backed (but publicly-quoted) operator of the national electrical grid. It also has investments in Portugal, Peru and Bolivia. Currently, infrastructure conglomerate Abertis controls Hispasat. In May […]
Confidence in London-based specialist satellite operator Avanti Communications has again been dented. October 17th and 18th saw significant movement in its share (1.46 million on 17th and 790,000 on 18th, when the normal trading would be 40,000-60,000 per day). October 19th saw Avanti’s share price hit an all-time low of just 6.51 pence (£0.0651) and […]
The diplomatic problems between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Gulf states and Qatar has escalated and now threatens the TV output from Qatar-based beIN Sports. October 18th saw Egypt’s prosecutor-general name and refer Nasser Al-Khelaifi, beIN Media Group’s CEO (and president of football club Paris Saint Germain) to Egypt’s Commercial Court and alleging “monopolistic practices” […]
A thought-provoking feature in Fortune magazine suggests that the world might be on the cusp of a new clutch of space pioneers. It says that the likes of Elon Musk (SpaceX), Amazon’s Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin rockets) as well as cash from Bill Gates (Microsoft), Google’s Sergey Brin and even Virgin’s Richard Branson could all […]
Israel’s AMOS satellite operator, Spacecom, says it has ordered two launches from SpaceX. SpaceX will take care of the launch of Amos-17 in 2019, and Amos-8 in late 2020. The first launch is a firm contract while the second is currently an option. Amos-6 was lost in a catastrophic explosion in September 2016 when a […]
The joint Intelsat-Intel proposal to free up C-band spectrum in certain congested urban areas in the US has received a warm response from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). FCC commissioner Michel O’Rielly told delegates to the Americas Spectrum Management Conference that the idea was very beneficial and would be examined closely. While not wholly endorsing […]